Friday, June 29, 2007

Here's most of the text from an e-mail which I received from my Senator-I had exercised my citizenship rights and called and e-mailed his office to tell of my displeasure as to his voting 'the wrong way' on the immigration bill. I believe that if citizens hadn't raised such a clamor of outrage about the bill, it would have become law, as former Republican President Bush was ready to sign away our sovereignty. And also, if we hadn't voiced our opposition so strongly, I never would have gotten this letter-see if you can find the weasel in the words:

"Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns regarding immigration reform. I believe the current immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. I look forward to voting for a bill which will provide for real border security, will eliminate the lure of continued job opportunities for illegal immigrants, and will provide a program that would have helped identify illegal immigrants in this country with their continued presence conditioned on learning English, paying taxes and being employed.

I could not, however, support the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348) in its current form. S. 1348 was never considered by a Senate Committee and was brought directly to the floor before most of us had a chance to fully review it. Senate leadership blocked many amendments, including my own, that would have improved the bill. The repercussions of this bill are too great, and I could not in good conscience support moving forward with legislation that is incomplete and unfinished. For this reason, I voted against a procedural motion on June 7, 2007 that would have pushed the bill forward without further debate.

I believe that improving our border enforcement capabilities must be central to any immigration reform legislation. Our unprotected borders are unacceptable and represent a crisis which must be dealt with decisively and without delay. I am pleased that S. 1348 would require hiring more Border Patrol officers, constructing vehicle barriers and fences on the Southern border, monitoring the entire border electronically and ending the catch-and-release system that leads to many illegal aliens remaining in the United States, and that such improvements would have to be enacted before any permanent benefits would be given to the current illegal population and before any new guest worker program would start. This bill would also increase the penalties for many immigration violations.

I strongly oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. Any legalized status for people already here must not be a blank check that will encourage more people to enter this country illegally. In order to be here, I believe that immigrants must undergo background checks, demonstrate proof of employment, possess English proficiency and an understanding of civics, and pay a monetary penalty if they entered illegally. S. 1348 would do much of this, but I would have preferred more stringent policies in some of these areas. I would have supported more rigorous background checks than currently in the bill and stricter workplace enforcement if given the opportunity to amend the bill. I am pleased that under S. 1348 illegal immigrants would not be eligible for Social Security benefits accrued using a false number.

You may also be interested to know that I introduced amendments that would have ended the policy of sanctuary cities. Sanctuary cities are cities where local law enforcement is barred from so much as asking the people they come into contact with about their immigration status. As a consequence, these cities are able to evade their legal responsibilities to share such information with federal authorities. This is a gag order, and it essentially means the rule of law does not apply in these cities. My amendments would lift that gag order and allow law enforcement officers in these cities to inquire about an individual's immigration status and share their findings with the Department of Homeland Security.

While immigration reform must reflect the American values of fairness and opportunity, it must also show respect for the rule of the law. It is my hope that proper debate on a border security and comprehensive immigration reform can be held in the Senate, and the result will be legislation that provides for a safer, more secure and prosperous America .

Thank you once again for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate hearing from you and I value your advice."

I bet. A light once-over as to the weasel bits:"I believe the current immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed."No-the system is not broken-it is ignored. If we prosecuted with the laws already in place, our immigration system would work. If we protected our borders the way liberals protect Abortion, no illegal interloper would stand a chance."I could not, however, support the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348) in its current form." Liar. He voted with Ted Kennedy on June 26 to support that bill. He voted against it on June 28 after hearing from some of his constituents. When I called his office, no answer-waited, transfered to another office-no answer-waited-transfered to voicemail but couldn't leave a message as the box was full."I voted against a procedural motion on June 7, 2007 that would have pushed the bill forward without further debate." So did everyone else-but reminding me of his correct vote earlier doesn't negate his wrong vote on the 26th. Note which vote slipped his mind while writing this 'form-hope-you're-not-angry letter'."While immigration reform must reflect the American values of fairness and opportunity, it must also show respect for the rule of the law."Likewise, the Senate should show respect for the rule of law; instead of legislating changes, demand that the laws on the books be obeyed. Fund the Border Patrol, build the already approved and funded barrier, and stop impeding our work of National Security.Years ago, I heard this saying:"One man alone can do anything. You know what would really impress me? To hear that a committee accomplished something. That would blow my mind."

Monday, June 25, 2007

I’m sorry-I will make this very brief. But I have to ask these few questions, and I’m hoping that our left leaning friends can help me out.

We have another terrible tragedy, this time on Ohio, which seems to echo the Scott/Lacey Peterson case of a few years ago.As most of us who have Tvs know, a young pregnant woman, Jessie Davis, was found murdered. The father of her child, Bobby Cutts jr, has been arrested.Like Scott Peterson, Cutts has been charged with two murders-of Davis and her unborn daughter.How can this be? If a fetus is not a person, who can be charged with murdering her ? (I know, I know-I’m supposed to say ‘it’, but the gender of “it” is already known. And I believe that an unborn person is indeed a person, so…)Peterson was convicted of two separate murders. Cutts, if found guilty, will also be convicted of two murders.Isn’t this Judicial Schizophrenia? If it is not a crime to abort a fetus, how is it that these men are charged with murder? And if they are guilty of murder, how is a doctor who performs abortions innocent?Help me out here, Jake. Or anyone else who thinks they know the answer.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

“14For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”Romans 8:14-17

Family. A word that each of us understands according to our own lives-we are a family, they are a family, a family is connected, usually through blood.Sometimes families break up, sometimes families live in turmoil, constant emotional upheaval due to the problems of some of its members-but even if they are broken, even if there is turmoil, there is still Family.The Scripture above is one that I can understand intellectually, but still have a hard time accepting emotionally. I can understand that God loves us, and that He has adopted us, made us His children. His Spirit testifies with my spirit; I have no doubts as to my belonging to God. But to make us heirs, fellow heirs with Christ-I can’t get my heart around that, can’t ‘emotionally comprehend’ that wonderful blessing. To be invited into the house as a servant would be wonderful beyond measure-and God goes even further than that, making us His children and heirs.

Family is on my mind a lot lately, different families that I know-some in trouble, breaking up, others full of peace. Whatever your situation, if you or someone in your family is in trouble, cry out to God, “Abba, Father!” and He will take care of you. May God Bless you and your family today.

"A detailed graph showing CDC’s yearly budget from 1995-2007, which has increased by more than 350% (pg. 7); andA chart showing yearly CDC’s HIV/AIDS funding from 2001-2007, which has more than doubled during that time (pg. 115)."

Despite very little demonstrable improvement in disease control.

My question: How do I get my bosses to provide me with a zero gravity chair? Perhaps I should try the "my morale needs boosting" strategy. Hmmm...

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Remind me never to go into antique shops again. Saturday I was out and about ‘garage sailing’ with my Mother, and we visited a new ‘old’ shop, which has many overpriced antiques. I found the local newspaper with my birth announcement. In an antique shop. Ouch.Count it all joy, right?With all Hell breaking loose next door to the center of the Universe (Israel, Jerusalem, where Christ will rule His Creation), finding an old newspaper doesn’t seem like much. But it’s all part of the mix.Count it all Joy. One of the mysteries surrounding Christianity has to be that we are called to be joyful in chains, jails, poorhouses or palaces. A deeper mystery-mysterious to one on the outside of Christianity looking in-is that we are Joyful no matter the circumstance. That doesn’t mean that smiles are painted on, or that we have lost touch with reality-it means that we are very much in touch with the reality of Who God is, how He can be trusted to protect us, defend us, and, when it is time, trusted to bring us home.“4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Not many would be convinced that I have a gentle spirit as quoted above. But God is working on me. Watch this space.

“the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”That peace, which remains within us even through life’s tumults, guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It is one of His sweetest gifts given to us.Right now as the world goes to Hell, from Gaza to Iran to China and Venezuela, it would be very easy for a recovering stress junkie such as myself to overdose on the bad news. But I can’t.“whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”To put it bluntly, take in crap and you’ll feel crappy. I find that I am reading more of the Psalms, and the Epistles. The more the world rages, the closer I draw to God. The closer I get to God, by learning more about Him and His nature by reading His word, the greater the Peace that I feel. Count it all Joy.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

“1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”Ephesians 2:1-10

It is a wonderful passage, very familiar to most Christians-here is mentioned that Grace by which we are saved through Faith, “and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We do nothing to facilitate our being saved, beyond believing; and once saved, none of us can be more ‘righteous’ than another, as our only righteousness is that of Jesus Christ, Who is unchanging and perfect. We become more sanctified as God’s Holy Spirit works in our lives, but it is impossible to be ‘more righteous’ through our works.

“25‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.” Exodus 20:25

Charles Spurgeon in his devotional, “Morning and Evening” sees in this verse a warning against our adding anything to the Gospel: “The proud heart of man is very anxious to have a hand in the justification of the soul before God; preparations for Christ are dreamed of, humblings and repentings are trusted in, good works are cried up, natural ability is much vaunted, and by all means the attempt is made to lift up human tools upon the divine altar.”

‘not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.’ Believe it or not, elsewhere in Scripture we are indeed called to boast, but not in ourselves, out abilities, our faithfulness, prayer-warrior status, etc.

23Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.Jeremiah 9:23-24Amen.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Martina McBride sings about ‘Waking Up Laughing’ -which I have never done, though I have ‘awoken aprayin’ a few times. While I may not wake up laughing, my sense of the nonsense evident in the world keeps amusing me. I don’t know why God created me like this, but I Praise Him for doing it.There are a few out there that wish He hadn’t built Doug 1.0 just as I am. That gets me laughing.The recent contretemps with Rand had him declaring that I am too worldly. Just for fun, and in case you're wondering why I still have a link to Rand's site on our sidebar, click on it.More recently, John D thinks I am too religious. How can you not laugh? Rather than listen to either of them, I remain as I am: a sinner saved by Grace, a Christian man loved by God, fellowshipping in a great church; a work in progress who will be fully sanctified only when I get to Heaven.Until then, I remain vigilant, seeking to avoid both the Legalism trapping Rand and the worldliness of a lost soul like John D. My beliefs actually do not include a Christian being able to backslide out from under God’s Grace, so the worldliness isn’t as much a danger as the Legalism. That stuff is sanctioned by entire denominations, whose watchword is: “We are not Legalistic!”But this isn’t just about the errors of a few world citizens who have issues with me-there’s a whole Kosmos of ridicu-licious stuff that makes me laugh.Until my Pastor mentioned him in church yesterday, I had never heard of Ken Ham, who is a Creationist whose mission is de-bunking Evolution. He isn’t the one making me laugh-I’m on his side, and I wish him all the best.Yesterday I see another notice of him on a non-Christian site, BMEWS. The ones who make me laugh are the ones who start squawking like Chicken Little because someone doesn’t prostrate himself at the feet of “S*C*I*E*N*C*E”. And the “S*C*I*E*N*C*E” they believe in is more close-minded than Christian Legalism. The one opposing him in the BMEWS article is De Eugenie Scott, head of a little bucket of love called the “National Center for Science Information”.Sounds great, right? Who can argue against Science? We love science! Science is cool, landing little go-karts on Mars, deep sea diving to get a look at the underwater world-it’s all good.Here’s a direct quote from their website:“"NCSE is a nonprofit, tax-exempt membership organization working to defend the teaching of evolution against sectarian attack. We are a nationally-recognized clearinghouse for information and advice to keep evolution in the science classroom and "scientific creationism" out. While there are organizations that oppose "scientific creationism" as part of their general goals (such as good science education, or separation of church and state), NCSE is the only national organization that specializes in this issue. When teachers, parents, school boards, the press and others need information and help, they turn to NCSE."While most of NCSE's work involves defending evolution against attacks, we also work to increase public understanding of evolution and science "as a way of knowing."So, they are basically the “ACLU”, the “Code Pink” of Evolution groupthink.I was checking channels on TV this morning and right up from Fox News is “Current”-the Al Gore created TV network for those who question(?) everything. Who do I see?Ken Ham being once more hammered by Dr. Scott. His organization is called Answers in Genesis, which, if you click the link at the top of this post, will appear before you like magic, but actually, it’s not magic-it’s computer/cyber hyperlink evolution. Wake up laughing, friends!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Actually, I can’t fault Al Gore for wanting to save the environment-we all want the world to be a better, cleaner, more pleasant place. We have done much good in America to make the world better-recycling programs, improvements in machinery; computers have saved more trees than Smokey the Bear. But the world is still being savaged and polluted by those who do not care about the Environment. They re-create in their areas the pollution of sin which is within them. They foul their own nests, so to speak, and then complain about the mess.But that’s a subject for another post. As he is the most prominent of the ‘Assumers to the Environmental throne’, I have a few questions for Albert Gore:

Doug: “Al, do you believe in God, the God of the Bible?”Al: “Yes I do.” (If he were to answer yes, I would ask Al if he trusts that God is Sovereign over all of Creation. If Al answers yes to that, I would ask Mr. Gore for evidence to back up his belief, as it is impossible to tell from his actions that he believes in God at all. And I would suggest that if he does accept that God is Sovereign, petitioning Him on behalf of the Environment should be first on his agenda, as God can do what man cannot.)

or

Doug: “Al, do you believe in God, the God of the Bible?”Al: “No I don’t.”

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

“Thus his (Socrates) chief contributions lie not in the construction of an elaborate system but in clearing away the false common beliefs and in leading men to an awareness of their own ignorance, from which position they may begin to discover the truth. Socrates's contribution, then, was primarily the negative one of exposing fallacies, but equally important was the magnetism of his personality and the effect which he had on the people he met.”

I’m no Socrates, and I have the magnetism of a rubber ball, but…Here’s the translation:

“Long post. People Catostrophate by their Assumity, which they mistake for Reality.{Boy, do they ever! It’s like there’s a little box somewhere shaped like a human heart which generates Assumptions and alternatives to Reality. The Sophists of Socrates’ timewould teach you anything to make a buck. The Truth cost extra. People today will cling to any false assumption rather than face Reality-their psyche is too fragile- “You can’t handle the truth!” -so they find it more comfortable to live in a mock up of Reality, an ‘Assumity’ where their assumptions are all the ‘real’ they need.They are the great grand children of the Sophists-Absolute truth is impossible, so any truth, any belief is equally valid. Here’s an example:“You choose to believe in God, and that’s fine for you, but I believe differently.” Does God cease to exist if people don’t believe in Him? Or is He real only for Christians? What that person is saying is: “I don’t believe your God exists, and you do. My assumption is good enough, is as equally valid as yours. Because who can know for sure? As Pilate asked Christ: “What is Truth?” John 18:38 Truth was staring him right in the face.Indulging in assumptions wouldn’t matter a bit if there were no consequences. But there are: Catastrophe, which I…please forgive me for writing this…Catastrophe, which I…verbalized. (I’m sorry!)}

The Assurity of their gullibitizing, compounding their confundities,{Call it what it is-a Con. Con is short for Confidence, as in: Confidence Man. I’ve known a few in my time, and they can indeed compound the confundities of the gullible by seeming so assured, so confident of the outrageous claims they speak into existence. Please forgive the metastizing of another verb-gullibitizing would be ‘proselytizing’ the gullible into believing in your Assumity.}

makes short work of a long draying.{Meaning that those who live by assumptions rather than Reality who seem confident in their Assumity don’t have to work very hard at their gullibitizing; those who may be open to becoming gullibitized have been conditioned by the world system (Kosmos) to reject the Reality of God, so they are accepting of any foolishness coming out of the mouths of those also rejecting God.} Meaning that by their pull each other into the pitthey mistake for a mountain.{I admit it. Guilty. There’s a literary ‘trick’ where you edit two or three words out of a sentence so that it almost but does not quite make sense. Usually someone will read the sentence more than twice trying to guess the missing words; in this case:Meaning that by theirconfident assumptions theypull each other into the pitthey mistake for a mountain. Pit for a mountain-where they think they are making progress, gaining, moving forward and climbing higher…they actually are tossing themselves into a pit. Catastrophe.} Man, I love brownies!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Long post. People Catostrophate by their Assumity, which they mistake for Reality.The Assurity of their gullibitizing, compounding their confundities, makesshort work of a long draying. Meaning that by their pull each other into the pitthey mistake for a mountain.